Chapter 2: She Has Mind-Reading Abilities

Bai Yunxi felt a bit horrified. She was certain that Aunt Hua hadn't opened her mouth, but as a certain thought popped into her mind, her gaze swept around the surroundings, finally settling on her eldest daughter-in-law.

‘...Those foolish sons of the Juren’s wife, why don’t they know to call a doctor?’

‘Has this house offended the Tai Sui? They’re dying one after another.’

‘Wuu wuu... Bodhisattva bless us, Mother-in-law must not die, she must not die...’

At this point, Bai Yunxi could finally confirm that as long as she stared at someone, she could hear their inner thoughts.

Bai Yunxi: “...”

Could this be the legendary mind-reading?

A transmigration perk?

Sitting in the chair, Bai Yunxi raised a hand to wipe the back of her head. Looking at the blood on her hand, another wave of dizziness washed over her. Not only did it frighten her sons, but even the debt collector, Zhao Li, was stunned. They had come to collect a debt, not a life.

“Don’t blame us, Juren’s wife. It is only natural to pay back what one owes. You cannot refuse to acknowledge the debt just because the Juren has passed away. Although we didn’t intentionally strike you, accidental injury is inevitable in a moment of urgency. If the Juren’s wife continues to obstruct us, this will become quite unpleasant, won’t it?”

Listening to Zhao Li’s tone, Bai Yunxi glanced at him.

‘Damn it, it was clearly the old hag herself who threw a tantrum and tried to welch on the debt that caused her injury. Now she’s making me look like I’m in the wrong.’

Bai Yunxi choked. *Damn it, you’re the old hag! I’m only thirty-six, in the prime of my life.*

“Du-shi, give me that strip of cloth to bandage this.”

Du-shi was still in a state of shock, but upon hearing her mother-in-law’s command, she immediately tore a strip from her own dress and clumsily wrapped it around her head.

Bai Yunxi: “...”

Is she really that much scarier than the debt collectors?

Now was not the time to dwell on such things; she had to deal with the debt first.

“If you’re here to collect a debt, then collect it. Why act so fierce and menacing? You haven’t even finished three sentences and you’re already trying to drive us out. You are bullying a widow and her orphans.”

“In the past, how courteous was Squire Ma to my husband? Now that my husband’s body is not yet cold, you come to our door to press for payment. It truly proves the saying: when a person leaves, the tea goes cold; people fawn over the powerful and trample the weak.”

Zhao Li looked at the old woman in front of him with suspicion. Aside from the cloth strip on her head looking a bit ridiculous, she was still the same person as before. How did her tone change so much just from a bump on the head?

“Zhao cannot agree with the Juren’s wife’s words. The Juren borrowed a significant amount of money from the bank. My master is benevolent and did not charge interest, only asking you to use this residence as collateral. It is a pity that heaven did not grant his wishes; the Juren failed to secure his official post and even died of anger. My master is also deeply saddened, but business is business—the money must be repaid in the end.”

‘Old hag, if you want to blame someone, blame your own husband for being narrow-minded and arrogant. He had no money yet tried to be an official, got swindled out of his money, lost his life, and left you with a mountain of debt. It’s all self-inflicted.’

Bai Yunxi stared at him, grinding her back teeth.

In her memories, the old man who died had indeed used the deed to this courtyard to borrow thirty strings of cash from the Ma family’s bank. Added to the twenty strings they had saved over the years, it made exactly fifty strings, which he handed over to a classmate to pull strings, hoping to secure a position early.

Unfortunately, the old man had misjudged his friend. That classmate saw the money and was moved by greed; he used their money to secure a position as a county magistrate for himself and went to serve in the neighboring county.

When the old man found out, he fainted on the spot. After waking up, he went overnight to demand an explanation, but unfortunately, he couldn’t even get a meeting and was chased away.

Unable to bear the blow, the old man fell ill and never recovered. He lasted only a month before passing away; his seventh-day memorial service had just ended yesterday.

(End of chapter)